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February 2, 2026
PLOVER – Being one of the “fastest growing municipalities” in the North Central region, President/CEO of the Stevens Point Area YMCA Ryan Zietlow said, made Plover an obvious choice for a new satellite location – one the organization has been trying to establish for decades.
“The Stevens Point Y has been looking at [establishing] a Plover presence for the last 20 years,” he said.
In need of a facility with high ceilings and an expansive floor plan to house amenities – such as four indoor pickleball courts, a turf training area, walking track and wellness center featuring cardio and strength equipment – Zietlow said real estate opportunities that fit the bill have been historically limited.
“There’s not a ton of commercial property available in the Plover area for that type of activity,” he said. “We were also very particular about the location.”
As a nonprofit organization, Zietlow said one of the challenges in expanding is the Stevens Point YMCA has to be extremely careful about how and where it invests its funds.
“We did feasibility studies to [discover] what location would be best in Plover, what kind of membership growth we should see and whether that would be sustainable,” he said. “So, we were very locked into our location.”
Zietlow said the former Yonkers building – located at 1776 Plover Road – owned by Lokre (pronounced “lock-ree”) Development Company, provided the perfect solution.
“The old Yonkers building that we’ll be going into was where [our] dart was on the map – we want to be right there on Highway B [and] Plover Road in the Village of Plover,” he said. “Right by Interstate 39 [and] close to a lot of residential development that’s happening on the east side.”
In negotiating their lease, Zietlow said Lokre and the Stevens Point YMCA agreed on a favorable rate that will help the nonprofit achieve its mission in establishing a Plover presence.
“We had a very specific location, so it took time to find the perfect spot, and we were lucky enough that Lokre was open and willing to have that discussion,” he said.
However, Zietlow said the relationship is not without mutual benefit.
“We know that if we’re more successful, that Lokre will be more successful in additional spaces they have open within some of their development opportunities down in Plover,” he said. “They really came alongside us and saw this as a true partnership. From the beginning, this wasn’t a landlord that was just looking at true profit. They were looking at it as, ‘how can we benefit the community?’”
Right opportunity, partner
With the nearest YMCA to Plover being located on the “far north side” of Stevens Point, Zietlow said the distance makes it inconvenient for members in that community to benefit from their membership.
“Even though it’s not a tremendous distance to travel, there’s not a great corridor that’s real smooth,” he said. “So, we do hear that people on the south side of Portage County sometimes find challenges in getting to the Y and engaging with us.”
Zietlow said member feedback, the area’s rapid growth and the opportunity to lease an appropriate property from Lokre all made 2026 the right year for the Stevens Point YMCA to expand.
“The YMCA has, for many years, looked at ‘how do we begin to build a presence and really engage with our community on the south side of Portage County?’” he said. “We’ve looked at Plover for quite some time, and needed to find the right opportunity and the right partner alongside us to be successful.”
Village of Plover leadership, Zietlow said, has also been extremely supportive of the new YMCA location.
“We really trust in the Village of Plover’s leadership, [and] we see they are a progressive group of individuals who want to see growth and greater impact for their residents,” he said. “The YMCA wants to ensure we can spread, reach and connect with people, and we see the Village of Plover doing the same thing.”
With more “single and multifamily” housing developments being added each year, Zietlow said the services that a YMCA can provide a young and growing community like Plover are innumerable.
“I always joke that outside of Walmart, the YMCA in a community is the single largest visited place,” he laughed.
However, beyond simply the services and programs it provides, Zietlow said the YMCA offers individuals and families another place to gather near other local businesses and community amenities.
“In talking to business owners in the Plover area, they’re excited for a YMCA,” he said. “They’re excited for the engagement and the support we provide, and the programs we offer, but they’re also excited for the foot traffic.”
Zietlow said the Stevens Point Area YMCA location in Plover will undoubtedly help grow visibility overall, not just for nearby businesses – such as Mission Coffee and Artist & Fare – but for the area as a whole.
“It gives higher presence and visibility to other businesses and organizations in the area,” he said. “Really, it’s a win-win for everybody.”
At times, Zietlow said being such a “diverse organization” makes it challenging to fully explain all a YMCA location has to offer.
“We serve everyone – from six-week-olds in child care to members who are 100-plus years old in programs that last throughout the day, throughout the week, 365 days a year,” he said. “So, when we look at it, an organization that has that wide and diverse of an impact opportunity, sometimes the message is difficult to share.”
Zietlow said roughly one in seven people in Portage County – which has approximately 70,000 residents – visit the YMCA location in Stevens Point each year.
“And we expect that number to grow once we have a Plover presence,” he said. “That’s a tremendous market reach and market penetration from that perspective…, so we can really partner with those for-profit businesses in our area and see some additional traffic on all sides.”
Currently, Zietlow said the building that will house the Plover YMCA is under renovation with a hopeful spring opening.
“Lokre has been a great organization to work with, [because] they understand we’re a nonprofit,” he said. “When we go to lease a space, we need to keep it as affordable as possible so we can keep our costs low for our members and our community, and we need to be sustainable – that’s priority No. 1. We need to ensure we’re not going to be pulling resources away to try to open up a second location for that.”
The Y and beyond
Zietlow said the Stevens Point YMCA location is also in need of repairs – a project the organization expects to tackle once operations are established in Plover.
“Our Stevens Point YMCA location is an older facility, and we know we need to invest in [it],” he said. “[However], for us to be able to accomplish both of those tasks at the same time – a significant revitalization in Stevens Point and a new YMCA construction in Plover – would be beyond the capabilities our community has from a philanthropic support perspective.”
Regardless, Zietlow said repair plans are in the works to ensure the Stevens Point YMCA can continue to serve its members for decades to come.
Plans for continued improvements, he said, don’t stop there.
“[When] I came to the Stevens Point Y just more than three years ago, the board and I discussed ‘what are our main priorities?’” he said. “One is revitalization of Stevens Point; two is continued growth of our camp YMCA and Glacier Hollow [day camp]; and three was figuring out a Plover presence.”
To build early interest, Zietlow said the facility is offering charter memberships for purchase before the Plover location’s official grand opening.
“Charter membership allows access to the Stevens Point Y at no cost until Plover opens,” he said. “That, I think, has been tremendous. We waive our joiner fee, so it’s an additional perk, [and] we have Plover YMCA swag the first 400 new members receive…, so they can be proud of the fact they were one of the early adopters of this location.”
Charter members, Zietlow said, will also receive exclusive communication and updates on construction progress as renovations are underway.
“They can follow along with what that looks like,” he said. “Then, Plover members will be invited to soft opening events before it opens up to the entire public.”
Zietlow said the best part is that this is all just the beginning for the Stevens Point Area YMCA – both in Plover and beyond.
“We see this as a phase one to just start to engage and be a part of the Plover community,” he said. “We’re also in the construction process for a brand-new YMCA in Waushara County in Wautoma that will open up in fall 2026.”
For more information on the Stevens Point Area YMCA, visit spymca.org.
